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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.8
EAN num: 9781570629983
ISBN number: 1570629986
Label: Shambhala
Manufacturer: Shambhala
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 112
Printing Date: August 12, 2003
Publishing house: Shambhala
Release Date: August 12, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 924569
Studio: Shambhala
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Product Description:
While technical prowess and physical power are essential characteristics of a martial artist, true mastery of the art comes by cultivating one's inner strength. Here, Kenji Tokitsu—an authority on Japanese and Chinese combat arts and a respected karate teacher—shows how cultivating ki (life force) and understanding the principles of budo (the martial path of self-development) can make training in martial arts more meaningful, effective, and personally and spiritually rewarding. Tokitsu emphasizes the mental aspects of martial arts practice including: The importance of ki development Seme, or capturing your opponent's mind Understanding ma, the spatial relationship in combat Studying these concepts, he explains, gives martial artists the tools to train for a lifetime and at the very highest level. Tokitsu also gives a historical and cultural survey of budo, and explains how the Western view of budo training is different than the Japanese—a perspective rarely available to Western martial artists.
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Rated by buyers 
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either this book is so far above everyone I know, or this is written in another language, because it is almost impossible to understand what the author is talking about!
Rated by buyers 
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Kenji Tokitsu is a very experienced martial artist, with knowledge of both Chinese and Japanese systems. He shares with the reader many insights gained by four decades of practice. Key to this discusion are the terms budo, ki, seme, kizeme, ma, ritsu zen, zazen and kiko.
This read like an extra appendix to the author's book "Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings", also available from Shambala. I was already interested in the concepts of seme and kizeme from reading that book, and this book more than sated that particular thirst for more information on the subject.
I find it tremendously important that the author is appropriately vague when it comes to defining the term "ki", for that is what ki is. He also reminds us of the fact that words in the Japanese language often have several meanings that are almost unfathomable to someone who does not know Japanese. There is also the fact that two seemingly opposed terms, such as love and hate, can still mean essentially the same thing or at least contain elements of each other within them.
He makes some interesting points as to why kendo is more suited than other budo forms to cultivate kizeme, but does not dismiss the other forms and in fact describes how he feels some might even have more potential in this area.
The author also describes various training methods as employed by a number of sword masters to develop one's self beyond mere technique, especially relating to Zen.
The importance of this book and others like it is a great one. For those who are to spend decades in dedication to the martial arts, it is worthy of consideration to go beyond merely being a little better than the subsequent practitioner.
Highly recommended on its own or in conjunction with the author's other book. I hope he'll write some more for us.
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